"What do you have to say?" He asked his gaze fixed on Will.
"The loot we obtain through teamwork will be divided equally. I don't have any concerns about how you choose to distribute your share amongst yourselves; that's not my problem."
"Furthermore, just because we've formed a group doesn't mean we're obligated to stick together. We can decide to part ways at any time or even venture out alone at certain times."
"During these solo expeditions, whatever we discover is ours alone, with no sharing... the same goes for you guys. As I mentioned before, we won't always be moving together," Will concluded, emphasizing this point.
"Is that all?" If so, then it's a deal," he replied, extending his hand for another handshake. Will reached out and shook his hand in agreement.
"With that settled, we need to find a safe place to stay... somewhere we can return to rest and stay during the assessment."
"We still have plenty of time, so as we search for beasts to hunt, we can also keep an eye out for a suitable location. Is that acceptable to you?"
"Yeah, so where do we go from here," Garrick asked.
"I discovered a spot containing energy crystals, but it's a dangerous place. I don't think we alone can handle it," Will said, staring over the vast expanse.
"We are fine fighters, I believe we'll be able to take care of any beast within the low stage magical tier."
"Alright, we'll head there, but first we would need to rest before we go. Also, I hope you have a healer within your group."
Although Will would have wanted the crystals for just the three of them, it was too dangerous to go there alone. They had been able to stack a lot the first time, and he had a plan already for the crystals.
'I wonder where that guy is,' Will thought, resting under the canopy of branches. He lay there slowly entering slumber. He had activated his enhanced sense in case of danger. Although he had decided to join them, he didn't utterly trust them.
After an hour of rest, he woke up getting off the ground, and he approached the rest. "Alright, I'm all ready, I'll lead the way," he declared.
Everyone checked their weapons and made sure everything they needed was intact. Will started with a jog, which slowly turned to a sprint. They dashed across the expanse, passing some students along the way.
"About the crystals," Will said while running. "It's guided by some magical tier beast, although I'm pretty sure they are low stage, don't let your guard down."
"What! How do... "
"Don't worry about us. We are capable of taking care of ourselves," Garrick said, cutting off the other guy. He didn't think about it that much since he was sure they would be able to handle anything that came their way. "C'mon, let's get there quickly before another group finds it."
Their speed skyrocketed as they navigated through, and finally, they had reached the barred land.
"Tread carefully here," Will cautioned as he increased his senses. They were just halfway through when the ground got destroyed, and out came several tentacles, all dripping a grey like substance.
"First formation! Flowing force!" Will muttered as he charged forward. With each swing of his sword, he could feel the power building up. He wasn't having an easy time since he had to dodge the grey like substance, which exploded when his sword struck.
Looking at the ground, he could see the grey substance burning through without resistance. "Like I thought before, for some strange reasons that one was unable to use its powers and also unable to move since it was protecting the crystals."
The rest had joined in, and they displayed great teamwork. The problem was the acid like substance, which they were weary off. In order to get close to the head of the beast, one would need to pass the thousands of tentacles protecting it.
Will hurled several wind blades along with his sword and finally getting enough build up he charged towards the the main body of the beast.
"Second formation of the heaven-defying technique! Raging force!" He exclaimed as he swung forward, unleashing a terrifying amount of energy that destroyed everything on its path. The energy had struck its head but was unable to finish it, kill it in one go.
The beast let out a scream as it entered the ground back. "Don't let it get away!"
Just as they were about launching different attack to get the beast, several rumbling occurred, and out came tentacles from different spots. "So you called your comrade, huh?" Will eyes scanned through, and he spotted the beast at the back of its comrades.
"Don't think I'm going to let you run away that easily." Kicking off the ground, he had covered the distance instantly with flames erupting from his feet.
"Since my energy is full, I can make use of my skills to the fullest. First formation of the heaven-defying technique! Flowing force!" With each swing he cut of the incoming tentacles, due to the high amount converging on him, he couldn't fully avoid the acids getting slight burns as he edged forward.
[ -5hp ]
[-5hp ]
[ -7hp... ]
"Shit! They're too much, I got carried away," he thought as he saw himself already surrounded by thousands of tentacles and were emitting an ominous glow.
"Damn! Think! Think!" Flames suddenly wrapped round his body, and with the little space he had, he began to run in circles. Slowly, winds began to converge around him, forming a mini tornado. Taking control of the wind, he slowly poured his fire energy, turning it into a fiery tornado.
The tentacles shot out a high amount of the grey acid like substances towards him. "I hope this works," he thought in excitement. Whenever he felt endangered, he always felt this strange adrenaline surging through him, and during those moments, he acted wild.
The attack joined the tornado, which was growing in size each second.
"Look over there!" One of Garrick guys exclaimed, forgetting about the ongoing fight.
"What's that guy up to?" Garrick thought, looking towards the direction. He could feel the intense energy flowing and was surprised.
Belle and Dren soon noticed the energy flow, and looking over, they saw a large fiery tornado with dark spots spinning round. "Will," Belle said with a sigh. "C'mon, I believe he knows what he's doing, focus on your battle," Belle voiced out, and they continued their fight.
'Alright, just like how I ignited those fire bullets, I would be able to do the same... but I won't be left out in the attack. Coating my vitals with qi will lessen things.'
Now, feeling the flow of the energy surging wildly, "Ignite," he said softly, and as soon that was said, a large explosion occurred, spreading over a hundred meters radius. Some of the beasts were destroyed in getting caught in the full brunt attack. Most had escaped but were heavily wounded. Will wasn't unscathed as he was badly burnt by the attack.
"Ugh," he vomited a huge blop of blood, but the smile on his face could be seen growing wider. "I... did it," he said amid pains.
[ Host is critically wounded, emergency healing as commenced ]
"Did he just use core explosion," Garrick said in a daze.
"That idiot! The battle is far from over and badly injured already." Belle looked around and noticed about five beast surrounding them, "I trust you guys can handle them," Belle said, and without wasting time, she leapt off the ground, heading towards Will.
[ Host has been fully healed ]
[ Energy: 452/1400 ]
[ 69/150hp ]
[ You've defeated a low-stage magical tier beast 500exp ]
[ You've defeated a low-stage magical tier beast 500exp... ]
Will got back on his feet and could see the beasts tentacles slowly growing back.' That was a wild attack,' he thought as he got back to his feet.
He drew his sword and charged forward, his sword cutting down the tentacles. "This feeling... is so... exhilarating! But... I like it!" He exclaimed as his eyes emitted a strange dark glow. His blue eyes turned a deeper shade of blue with a tinge of black.
"Will! Get back here! You are going too deep!" Belle voice echoed across the expanse, but she got no response as he edged further into the thousands of tentacles.
"Second formation of the heaven-defying technique! Raging force!" His voice carried a heavy tone as he swung forward, destroying whatever stood his part. Unknowingly, he was drawing energy from a strange power sealed in him. A power that had caused the whole world to be against his family. It was a power he had no idea of.
His sword moved onward, and finally he had spotted the beast which had made him come this far. The beast had fully healed and was among the lot that had sent their tentacles forward. In total, around five of the octoslime had surrounded him, each with thousands of tentacles ready to charge upon him.